Forty years since she belted her way to the top of the charts with a raucous version of the Isley Brothers’ ‘Shout’, the former teen soul singing sensation somehow manages to stave off the ravages of age. Judging by the cover shot here Lulu has either discovered the secret of eternal youth or has a good plastic surgeon. Following hot on the heels of 2002’s successful Duets album, Back On Track sees the Glasgow lass come over all raunchy with a collection of in-your-face and surprisingly robust rock and roll numbers. The opening pair of tracks, ‘Keep Talking…I’m Listening’ and ‘Yeah, Now You Love Me’ are straight from the Primal Scream ‘Get Your Rocks Off’ School of Rolling Stones pastiches; ‘Roll The Dice’ is similarly superior bar-band fare while ‘Supernatural’ sees a partial return to her ’60s roots with a Dusty Springfield like soul stomper. For some reason she completely changes tack on the final couple of cuts ;‘Kiss & Tell’ is Beyoncé- style R&B while ‘Where The Poor Boys Dance’ sounds like a left-over from a 1990’s house album.
She can sing like few others in the business and has worked with artists as diverse as David Bowie and Ronan Keating but it’s a shame she can’t find a more challenging vehicle for her talents. Despite the title, this is unlikely to restore her to chart-dom.